Combination furniture



P. SUGERMAN COMBINATION FURNITURE April 14, 1925. 1,533,219

Filed Aug. 17, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 APMM, w25.

1P. SUGERMAN COMBINATION FURNITURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed ling, l 17, 1922 Nimm.. .MHV

Aprii Mb 1925.

P. SUGERMAN COMBINATION FURNITURE File@ Agg. 1v, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 d r /////////r,

April 14, 1925.

1,533,219 P SUGERMAN COMBINATION FURNITURE .2.2 -:12:: ...Erw

Patented' 'Api'. 14, l1925.

UNITED i STATES PHILIP SUGERMAN, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMBINATION FURNITURE.

Application 11i-ea August 17, 1922. serial No. 582,400.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP SUGERMAN, a

i citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates primarily to furniture of the typel designed for use in any of a plurality of settings, each for the purpose of an ordinarily separate and distinct article of furniture.

It is an object of the invention to rovide, more particularly, an arm chair embodying in its construction one or more normally concealed fixtures, devices or apparatus readily accessible'for use with uniform comfort by an occupant of the chair regardless of his or her physical proportions.

In the specific embodiment shown. the invention providesia combination arm chair, which has associated therewithk ofce and study appliances normally concealed in the interior thereof and adapted to be arranged for convenient and comfortable use by the.

occupant of the chair. This invention provides an attractive study chair departing in no particular froml the conventional outlines or proportions of an ordinary arm chair andis useful in the home, in the oiiice, in hotels, dormitories, railway Pullman cars, on steamships and in general in any relation where economy of space is necessary or desirable.

The study. arm chair in which the invention is shown embodied in the drawings, includes in its construction a typewriter cabinet and desk, a'writing desk and a bookcase. In the preferred specific application, the typewriter cabinet and the writing desk are normally in the interiors of the arms of` the chair and are arranged to be exposed on top of the respective arms for convenient use by an occupant of the chair, and the bookcase is in the back of the chair and accessible from the forward side thereof.

The typewriter, which is preferably of the conventlonal portable type, being of much greater depth than the width of the arm, is mounted preferably with its base substantially in a vertical lane within the arm compartment, a portion of the arm constituting a closure for the compartment through which access to the typewriter may be gained. In the preferred embodiment,

.the typewriter is arranged to be shifted from vertical to horizontal and operative position upon the arm, and the closure yreferred to constitutes a supjort for retaining the typewriter in its sai operative position.

According to another feature of the invention, the typewriter base is arranged slidably with respect to the chair base, so that vits distance from the back of the chair may be adjusted to adapt the position of the typewriter for use in comfort by persons of different physical proportions.

In the preferred embodiment, the arm is .provided with a longitudinal guideV constituting a support for the t ewriter alo which the latter may be shiftped with iespdiif, to the arm. In an arm chair of conventional proportions, this adjustment may not afford suliicient space for use of the machine by a tall or stout person. I have accordingly provided a construction whereby a portion of the chair arm itself is arranged to be displaced to an adjustable extent from the back of the chair, either in addition to or instead of the adjustment of the typewriter along the arm. v

The typewriter is preferably mounted upon an auxiliary base provided with a pivot about which the typewriter may be rotated when in operative position to set it at the angle affording a maximum of convenience to the typist occupying the chair.

The arm enclosing the normally concealed typewriter preferably rests upon the side of the chair base, the latter constituting a runway along which the arm is displaced. In the preferred lembodiment a pawl and ratchet construction locks the arm to the base in an position of adjustment and is accessible rom the side of the arm adjacent the seat for release to permit dis lacement of the arm for any change of a justment desired, anti-friction bearing means being preferably rovided for the arm to facilitate the sli ing adjustment.

Another feature is the rovision of a miniature writing desk whic is lpreferably mounted in a sliding arm su stantially identical with the arm that accommodates the ty ewriter cabinet. In the preferred embodiment, the miniature desk is disposed upon the under surface of the top of the arm which is formed as a cover hinged near the outer longitudinal edge thereof, a writing table board being hinged adjacent the hinged edge of the cover to be automatically raised into horizontal position with the des when the cover is opened to place the desk in position for use. v

'According to another feature, the back of the chair serves as a book case, the paneling list of said back being preferably hinged for access to the shelving therebehind.

According to another feature of the in-y vention, the chair is of a sectional construction, the back constituting a unit separable either in its entirety orin two parts from the base, and the arms constituting separate units, preferably in telescoped relation withthe back and having releasable supports upon the sides of the base.

.The above and other features of my invention may be more fully understood from the accompanying drawings in vwhich are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of theinvention. v

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of various possible embodiments and the several features of the invention, Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred form of arm chair in assembled relation, the typewriter cabinet being shown open and the writing desk in operative position. section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view in longitudinal section through one of the arms of the chair. y Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view vtaken along the'line 7-7 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the chair showing the writing desk and the typewriter in operative position.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig.' 10 is a ragmentary sectional transverse view through the arm carrying the writing desk, when the latter is in concealed position. e

Fig. 10a is a detail sectional view taken along the line 10'1---10EL of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 isy a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are perspective views respectively of the base unit, an arm unit, the sleeve holding unit for the arms, constituting the lower part of the back, the upper back unit, and the seat unit, and

ig. 17 is a detail view of a joint between elements of the chair base.

'Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings,

along the and pargether the Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal cross y ticularly to Fig. 1, I have lshown an arm` chair of conventional external appearance, comprising a base 10, a back 11, a seat 12, and a pair of arms 13 and 14.

One of the arms 13 is preferably formed as a combined typewriter cabinet and desk. In the specific embodiment shown, the top of the rarm is a cover 15 hinged at 16 at the outer edge and the side 17 of the arm adjacent section 12 is provided with a slide door 18 carrying rollers 19 at its sides (Figs. 4

vand 7 for shift along vertical tracks in the Track side 17k of the arm and inthe base. 20 is preferably an integral bar extending from a point near the upper end of the arm to a point near the bottom of the base. The other track is formed in two aligned sections 21 and 22 for a purpose which will appear below, the upper section 21 carried by the arm and the lower by the base.

The slide door 18vis preferably provided with pawls 23 pressed outward by springs 24 for coaction with ratchet racks 25 above tracks 20, 21, to maintain the slide Adoor in raised or closed position. By pressing toinger pieces 26 which are rigid with the pawls 23, the latter may be moved out of coaction .with the ratchet racks to alllow the lowering andraising of the slide oor. v

In the preferred embodiment shown, the typewriting machine 27, which may be of any suitable compact type, preferably any commercial form of portable type writer, fits within the compartment 28 shown open in'Fig. 1, preferably in substantially vertical position, as appears best in Figs. 1 and 5. The height of the portable typewriter being less than the inner dimensions of the arm of a chair of conventional proportions,

'I the typewriter is preferably suspended within the compartment with its base substantially in a vertical plane. In the specific embodiment shown, the suspension means comprises a metallic rod 29 extending longitudinally of the arm adjacent the upper end of the outer side thereof. The typewriter support base 30 has a Apair of hanger elements 31 which straddle the support rod, from which the typewriter' is suspended substantially in a vertical plane, the lower end resting against the inclined outer wall 32 Aof the arm.

. In the preferred embodiment the forward end of the arm 13 in front of the forward wall 33 of the typewriter compartment', as best shown in Figs. 1 and 8, is formed into a small compartment box 34 with a plurality of receptacles 34 at its top for housing pens, erasers and other small articles. An auxiliary or inside cover is hinged to the Inf.

arm at the rear of the typewriter compart- Fig. 1 when the cabinet is opened, and are .extended to close the upper end of the typeclosed within the contour of the arm 13, the

cover l5 being closed and the slide door 18 raised. To p-lace the typewriter in condition for use, the occupant o the' chair draws the finger pieces 26 together, lowers the slide door 18, opens the cover 15 and draws back the auxiliary cover 36, 37, 38. The typewriter 27 is now exposed and the occupant of the chair raises itl by pivotal movement about the support rod 29 as an'axis and returns the slide door 18 to raised position, the latter now serving as a support for the typewriter base when in horizontal or operative position on top of the chair arm as suggested in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In the preferred embodiment, (see particularly Figs. 5 and 8), the typewriter base is of composite construction, including a sub-base 40 below the usual base 41 of the ordinary portablev typewriter. A central pivot pin 42 secures the typewriter base 41 to the sub-base 40, the hanger elements 31 being on the latter. After the typewriter has `been raised to horizontal or operative position, its base 41 may be rotated about the pivot 42 on the sub-base, to incline the typewriting machine with respect to the length of the arm for use in comfort by the occupant of the chair.

In an arm chair of conventional propor-A tions, if the typewriting machine were mounted at a fixed distance from the chair back 'close to the front of the arm, a person of average size would be cramped in attempting to type since the machine would be too close to the back of the chair for comfort. I have accordingly provided means for shifting the typewriter unit longitudinally of the arm to position. it for use in comfort by persons of different sizes. For this -purpose the hanger rod 29 extends to the forward end of the chair arm and is anchored in front wall 43 thereof and extends through a notch 44 in the forward wall 45 of the typewriter compartment 28, said notch bemg sufficiently large for passage of the hanger element loop 31 therethrough after the latter reaches wall 454 in the shifting of the `typewriter along the rod 29 toward the front of the arm. Thus, after the typewriter cabinet* has been opened in the manner already deing along the rod 29 and the hanger loop 31 readily passing through the notch 44, the slide door 18 being then raised t-o sustain the typewriter.

Although the adjustment set forth will provide suiiicient space between the back of an arm chair of ordinary dimensions and the typewrit-ing machine for comfortable use by a girl of average size, this space may not be adequate for use by a larger person. To overcome this difficulty without increasing the size of the chair, I form a part of the arm, or the arm in its entirety, as a sldable element t'o shift forward with respect to the back of the chair as aunit, together with the enclosed typewriter compartment. In the preferred construction shown, the arm of the chair constitutes a separate unit shown in its entirety in perspective in Fig. 13, the rear end of said arm being preferably housed within a rectangular tunnel, chute or sleeve 46 at the bottom of the chair back. The lateral horizontal plank 47 of the chair base constitutes a guide bed or runway base for the arm. The runway base 47 is preferably provided with a ratchet rack 48 and the arm 13 has a pawl 49 co-operating therewith, provided with a vertical rod 50 extending through a corresponding aperture 51 in the lower wall 52 of the arm and guided by a bracket 53. An operating handle 54 for the pawl is accessible from the side of the arm 13 adjacent the seat in back of the rear wall 55 of the typewriter cabinet. The operating handle or finger piece 54 is a lever pivoted at 56, the pawl control lrod 50 being pivoted to the outer end of said lever as at 57 and being encircled by a coil spring 58 which coacts with collar 59 to urge the pawl into operative .lcoaction with the ratchet rack 48. Thus it will be seen that the arm is normally locked against shift longitudinally with the base. Upon depression of the linger piece 54 the ratchet is disen aged from the rack, and the arm may be shifted through desired distance, and upon release of the finger piece 54 the arm is locked in set position.

To expedite the shifting ofthe arm and to eliminate excessive friction, vit is preferred to provide an antifriction runway for the arm. Metallic T bars 62 and 63 secured to the bottom 52 of the arm 13 constitute tracks i lll!) upper track extending longitudinally of the lower surinnersurface of the outer side wall74 therei face of the runway base.

It will be apparent that inthe assembly of the chair the arm is rested upon the run way base -47 by placing the tracks 62 and 63 upon the ball bearings 60, and thereafter the brackets 64 and 65 are secured to the sides of-tle arm with their rollers 67 engagmg the lower tracks 69 fixed to the run.- way base.

or no friction along the side ofthe base,

after the ratchet 49 has been released from the rack 48 by pressing on the finger piece 54, while the rollers 67 prevent any raising gr lateral shifting of the arm relative to the ase.

It will thus be apparent that thetypewriter can be placed in convenient position for use by any person, regardless of how tall or stout, by lowering the. slide door 18, raising the typewriter to horizontal position,

returning the slide door to elevated position,

where it acts to support the exposed typewriter and clears the lower track section 22 on the base. The finger piece 54 is now depressed, releasing. `the arm 13, and it is shifted longitudinally outward to the extent required, as illustrated, for instance, in dotted lines in Fig, 2. The entiretrack 2O and section 21 for the slide door move forward with the armi'lj, While track section 22 remains stationaiiyin 'the base and acts as a stop to prevent lowering the slide door 18 until the arm has been returned to rearmost position, in which track sections 21 and 22 are again aligned.

, It will be apparent that the portion of the arm 13 to the rear of the typewriter cabinet may, if desired, be provided with a hinged cover C to affordaccess to an additional compartment for filing papers, stationery or any other articles.

Of course the typewriter may be adjusted in position by shifting it along rod 29 as well as shifting the entire arm 13 with the typewriter cabinet forward.

It will be understood that the construction of adjustable typewriter cabinet set forth is applicable to other accessory appliances, devices or fixtures for convenient use by the occupant of a chair. In the drawings, I have shown the left arm of the chair equipped with a miniature desk and writing table. In the specific embodiment shown, see particularly Figs. 1, 8, 9, 10 and 11, a miniature roll-top desk 7 0 the interior construction of which is immaterial, is mounted upon the lower surface of a cover 71 hinged about a rod 72 anchored in the front and back of the arm near the top of the outer side of the arm structure 14. Hinged about the same rod 72 is a writing table The arm isthus secured in posi? tion, free *to slide longitudinally with little board element 73, which would nor-v lmally rest within the arm 14 against the of. It will be seen that when the cover 71 arm 14 tooverlap the upper .and the lower` sides of the writing table board7 3 when. in adjusted position, thereby firmly sustaining the unit in position for use. The edge of the writing' table is preferably bound with `a metallic frame78, Fig. 10a. The roll-top desk terminates somewhat behind the forward edge of the cover 71, the lextension 7 9 of the cover constituting a Aclosure for anl inkwell set at the forward end ofthe corresponding arm. It will be understood that in the preferred construction, the arm 14' sustaining the writing desk isarranged t-o be shifted or adjusted substantially in the same manner as the'typewriter cabinet arm, to adjust the desk in position most couvenient for the'size of the user. v

In the preferred embodiment the upholi" stered panels of the backV of the chair are y hinged, the upper panels 81 and 82 ou substantially vertical hinge axesl at the sides of the chair and the lower panels 84, preferably formed as a single unit, 'are pivoted about best shown in Fig. 2. Between the panels and the rear 85 of the chairzback, a plurality ,a horizontal axis 83 adjacemt'the seat 12, as

of shelves 86 may be'conveniently disposed, to lodge books, ledgers, or the like, constif v tuting a convenient bookcase.

The back of the chairadjacent the-arm `is preferably provided with (Fig. 3)`to afford access to compartments 88. thefloors of which are substantially at the level of the upper ends of the slidab-le arms, and these compartments may be used for housing telephones 89 or other conveniences.

In the embodiment shown, the upper edges of the back are provided with electric lights 90, connections (see Fig. 2) being established through wires 91 run along the back of the chair to a plug 92 which may be placed in a lamp' socket. Each lamp is preferably provided with a hinged lid 93, the exterior of which may be provided with a coverinu` matching the upholstery of the chair, so that the lamp is concealed when its lid is closed. It is preferred to interlock the hinged lid 93 with a switch mechanism (not shown) for the lamp, so that when the cover is raised to the position shown in Fin'. 1 the lamp is automatically turned on, a though, if desired, a special push button or other switch mechanism may be provided for the urpose. The specific switch mechanism, w ereby the result is accomplished, is well known and by itself'is no part of my position and the pane s of the .book case are closed, the 'arm chair has the conventional external conformatlon and appearance of an ordinary arm. chair. -Preferably the arm chair is upholstered in the usual manner, the

hinged arm covers 15 and 71 having the upholstery at those sides that are uppermost when the covers are closed. The sides of the slidable arms 13 and 14 are covered as at 94 with upholstery of the usual thickness,

except at the rear end where it is reduced in thickness as at 95, to telescope into the tunnel or sleeve 46. Preferably the reduced upholstery extends to a line 96 registering, when the arm is in home position, with the forward edge 97 of the tunnel or chute 46.,

Thus, the upholstery on the tunnels or sleeves will merge ywith that on the arm when the latter is in rearmost position, rendering the line of junction substantially in visible. As best indicated in Fig. 4, though exaggerated to better reveal the construction, the upholstery at the forward part of the shiftable arms is tucked in at the bottom, andthe upholstery on the base is tucked in at the top, so that the junction between the slidable' arm and the base will reveal the conventional seam in the upholstery of ordinary arm chairs.

For the writing desk, asbest shown in Fig. 10, the upholstery 97 at the outer side of the arm, is continued over the hinged edge of the cover, being greatly reduced in thickness above the upper edge of the arm. A metal plate 98 vprojecting beyond the hinged end of the cover 71 serves to sustain the reduced upholstery 99 .and 'prevents pinching thereof between the coverV or the desk base 71 :and lthe writing table 73 to the front thereof. Thus itfwill be seen that when the writing desk is inconcealed position the upholstery will present the usual neat appearance suggested in Fig. 10, and when the writing desk is tovbe set for use the reduced portion 99 of the upholstery will readily collapse into the space 100 be- .tween the hinge 72 and the top of the arm,

without pinching or binding.

The chair is preferably of sectional con. struction for convenience, in manufacture, transportation and assembly. The preferred embodiment comprises five sections: a base section shown in Fig. 12, 'a seat vsection shown in Fig. 16, a pair of arm sections, one of which is shown in Fig. 13, and back sections shown in Figs. 14 and 15.

The base section comprises a pair of substantial side members 101 supported on legs 102, said side members carrying the runway bases 47 for the slidable arms. The side members of the base are connected by front and back members constituting planks 103 and 104, respectively, each provided with a pair of projecting hooks 105 (Fig. 17) fitting into correspondin sockets 106 formed in the sides.v The ront member 103 is preferably connected behind the forward panels 107 and 108 of the chair base and has upon it a filler board 109 fitting snugly between said thereof. The lower part of the-back member, as shown is a back board 110, at the sides of, which are the two tunnel, chute 'or sleeve members 46 heretofore described and between which is pivoted the upholstered cover panel, 84, which normally conceals the lowest book shelf.

The base is provided with dowel pins 111 litting into corresponding dowel holes 112 in the lower edge of the tunnel members 46, latching hooks 113 at the sides and near the lower edge of said back member coacting with corresponding pins on the base member, to firmly anchor said members together. Preferably short posts 118 are secured to the side members resting on longitudinal runner members 117 for the seat, said posts serving to sustain a substantial portion of the weight of the back, which may be heavy when filled with books. The upper portion 114 of the back member, see Figs. 2 and 15, is supported upon the member 110 by dowel pin connections 115 and hook and pin connections 116 similar to those described.

The arms 13 and 14 are held in position in the manner already described, the rear portions thereof telescoping into the chutes or sleeves 46. v

-The seat 12 is of the upholstered type and rests on runners 117, the rear of said seat abutting posts 118. when the seat is properly positioned as shown.

Thus I have provided a combination article of furniture, having the normal eX- ternal proportions and dimensions of, and useful as, an ordinary arm chair, and concealing within its interior a typewriter cabinet, a filing cabinet, a book case and a writing desk or any one or more of these or similar elements, and also embodying, if desired, further accessories, fixtures or appurtenances.

vThe typewriter is readily placed in a convenient position for use, to constitute a typewriter desk, as is the writing desk and table, in the manner already described; and may be set in the position most convenient for the user seated upon the chair, regardless of how large or small said person may be. Y It will be seen that since these accessory devices are associated with the arms of the chair and extend along said arms, there is no obstruction to prevent the occupant from rising, as there would be if the accessory panels and in the plane apparatus extended across the chair. and in front of the user.

It will -thus be seen that there is herein described apparatus in which the several features of this invention are embodied, and which ap aratus in its action attains the various o jects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical use.

vAs many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter'contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. v

The hinged closures for the arms or either of them may of course be formed of metal, it' desired, instead of wood, as may the slide door and any or lall ofthe .remaining structural parts of the chair. i Having thus described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by v Letters Patent is f partment, a hinge rod within said compartt 1. AA combination armchair and typewriter desk, including a compartment within one of the arms of the chair, said arm including a cover slide for closin vsaid comment for normally supporting' a typewriter with the base thereof substantially 'in a vertical plane, whereby1 after displacing said slidable cover said typewriter may be raised about the hinge rod as an axis,.and said cover upon return to substantially closed position will constitute a support for said typewriter in horizontal or operative-position.

2. A combination arm chair and typewriterdesk, including a compartment within one of the arms of the chair, said compartment having a vertically slidable Vcover at the side thereof adjacent the seat, a horizontal rod within said army and near thev upper end thereof constituting a hinge support for a typewriter base, normally sustained therein with the base substantially in horizontal position, whereby after sliding said cover to open positionl the typewriter may be raised about said horizontal rod as an axis, and said cover, when replaced substantially'to normal position, will constitute a support for the typewriter in its normal position.

3. A combined typewriter desk and cabinet, including a compartment, hinge means for sustaining a ty ewriter therein with its base suspended su stantially in a vertical plane, a cover slide in front of said compartment, and means for sustaining said cover slide substantially in closed osition to serve as an auxiliarysupport for t e typewriter base after the latter has been raised to substantially horizontal position about its support as an axis.

4. In a combination arm chair, a rod extending longitudinally of and within one of the arms thereof, a 4'typewriter base having hangers for suspending the same from said rod, a slidable cover at the side of said arm adjacent-the seat, through which access may be had the typewriter, whereby upon displacing said cover said typewriter may be 'elevated about said'rod as an axis to horizontal position and upon returning said cover substantially to orig-l inal position said typewriter will be sus. tained in position.

5. In a combination arm chaira type- #writer compartment within one of the arms ofthe chair, an auxiliary compartment in front of the typewriter compartment, a rod-- extending lengthwise of said arm and into the auxiliary compartment, a typewriter hase suspended from said rod substantially in a vertical position, an auxiliary cover for closing the upper end of said compartments, said arm having a hinged cover extending the length thereof and overlying said auxiliary cover. v v

6. In an arm chairm combination a base, a seat. an arm resting upon said base, and

slidable lengthwise thereon, a ratchet rackcarried by said base extending longitudi# nally thereof, a pawl in said arm coacting therewith, operating means for raising said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet, said operating means being accessible from the side of saidv arm adjacent said seat, and antifriction tract guide means for directing displacement of said -arm longitudinally thereof, whereby said arm may-be set in any position of adjustment, and said pawl and ratchet will releasably secure it against displacement.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day of August, A. D. 1922.

PHILIP SUGERMAN. 

